Near Manassas, Virginia
October 1863
General McClellan sat at his field desk, pen in hand. He had rejoined the Union Army earlier in the day, and there was much to be done. He was anxious to see his troops firsthand, talk to his officers, look men in the eye, observe drill, and see for himself what the debacle at Gettysburg had done to his beloved Army of the Potomac. But first things first. He had to deal with Governor Seymour and the business of the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency.
Headquarters, Army of the Potomac
near Manassas, Va
October 7, 1863
Governor:
I am in receipt of yours of the 22nd of last month, offering me your Party’s nomination for President in the national elections scheduled for next autumn. While grateful for the confidence so expressed and mindful of the historic opportunity, I nonetheless must fall back on my duty as a soldier first. Earlier this week President Lincoln requested that I assume command of all Union Armies in the field with the express purpose of meeting the grave threats to our nation, now presented by General Lee’s victory at Gettysburg and the presence of an allied British Army now invading from the north. It is the President’s feeling that the times call for organization and strategic vision that have been lacking at the highest levels of this government and this army. It is my determination to quash the rebellion, as we were so close to doing after the grand victory at Antietam, and drive the British invaders back to Canada. I must therefore defer any decisions of a strictly political nature until such time as this war is won. It is my hope that we can remain in contact during the coming months as both military and political exigencies reach their respective conclusions.
I remain & c.,
Geo. B. McClellan, General in Chief.
McClellan placed the pen in the well, relaxed, and read the letter to himself. Just the right tone, he thought, putting the nation above personal ambition, but leaving a door open as well. Seymour is nobody’s fool and will understand.
The letter complete, McClellan looked up from the desk to a map pinned on the wall of his tent. Just like old times, he thought, camped between Washington City and Richmond, with Robert E. Lee and his army athwart the road to the Southern capital. What had Lee been thinking after Gettysburg? He could have swung south in the wake of the rout and threatened Washington, but instead had decided not to pursue Meade. He’d taken his time returning to Virginia, gathering supplies, Stuart sowing panic with raids and feints, and had finally taken up old positions near Fredericksburg, on the line of the Rappahannock. Daring the Union forces to march south again. But Lee had accomplished his goal; his victory had brought the British into the war and entirely changed the strategic calculus. Now he could afford to sit and wait for McClellan to attack.
But there would be no grand On-to-Richmond march now. McClellan’s gaze drifted north on the map to New York State. His immediate challenge was to dispatch sufficient forces to meet Burgoyne, and whatever was coming behind him, while protecting Washington City from Lee. Or Longstreet, if the explosive and inexplicable rumors coming from Richmond were true. Maybe now it’s Bobby Lee who knows what it’s like to be fired on the verge of victory. Could Davis be that stupid? Not the Jefferson Davis who had been his mentor ten years ago.
McClellan’s eyes returned to Virginia. But how to divide his forces? If Pinkerton was correct, Lee had more than 100,000 men in the field, and Burgoyne would not have dared invade with fewer than 50,000. McClellan needed to strike Burgoyne now before he was reinforced from Britain. But he needed to keep enough men south of the Potomac to protect the capital.
That’s why he needed to take the measure of his army. Meade’s strategy at Gettysburg had been sound, but why had seasoned troops, well entrenched on high ground, collapsed, and run in the face of Pickett’s attack? Poor leadership, the plague of the Army of the Potomac. He, McClellan, had trained and inspired them, but at the end of the day it was leadership that won or lost the day. Well, leadership will cease to be a problem beginning today.
The moment called for bold and swift action. In the back of his mind, McClellan saw an opportunity to banish forever his reputation for “the slows,” Lincoln’s insult that still burned. A plan had taken shape in his mind, an audacious plan, and he knew just the officer to undertake it and make it succeed.
“Captain Wilson, send for General Custer.”